It is estimated that 22% of youth manifest a mental health disorder leading to severe social, emotional, and/or behavioral impairment (Merikangas et al., 2010). Unfortunately, nearly 80% of youth in need do not access mental health supports (Kataoka et al., 2002). In addition, most ethnic sub-groups of students (e.g., African American, Hispanic/Latinx) access mental health services at even lower rates (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2016). As an indirect result of at-risk students not accessing the support they need within the community, the onus of addressing mental health challenges often falls to educators in the P-12 school system. Encouragingly, 89% of educators who completed a recent survey agree that schools should provide mental health (MH) prevention and intervention supports within schools (Reinke et al., 2011). However, educators also report a wide range of barriers to implementing school-based MH supports such as lack of funding, lack of teacher training in MH supports, limited community support options, and lack of coordination between school and external agencies (Reinke et al., 2011). Recent events including a global pandemic, social unrest, and increasing educator and MH clinician shortages have heightened the need to re-think school-based interventions and supports (Eber et al., 2020).
Research and demonstration efforts examining the impact of Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) on academic and social, emotional, and behavioral risk has been examined (Lewis et al., 2023). School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) has been empirically shown to improve student social, emotional, behavioral, and academic wellbeing, reduce exclusionary discipline, and improve overall school climate (see Santiago-Rosario et al., 2023 for a comprehensive review).
This practice brief will introduce the essential elements of SW-PBIS as a framework to embed and connect school-based MH supports to address a critical need across P-12 schools. The Interconnected Systems Framework (ISF) is also offered as a validated strategy to create a comprehensive school/district MTSS that specifically targets the MH needs of children and youth.